NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36: Cyclone
Empire — the second largest and most influential country in the world of Nytherre. It was home to three races: Humans, Neko and Elves. Although tensions had existed between them for centuries, a common enemy, the Dravarn, during the Great Demon Conquest, forced them to fight side by side.
At that time, unity prevailed among these races. Cities were being rebuilt, marketplaces were filled with merchants from far and wide, and temples of all deities were equally revered.
But that balance did not last long. A meteor, the size of a small house, fell from the sky. When the dust and smoke cleared, something no one could have expected was revealed: ancient and incomprehensible letters were engraved on the meteor, which later scholars determined to be a sacred prophecy.
On its surface were three terrifying images.
The first depicted a divine book — believed by priests to be the sacred diary of the gods.
The second showed the arrival of two unknown heroes. Their shadows were enormous, and a halo crowned their heads.
The third image horrified everyone present: the same heroes, now holding the divine book in their hands, stood over the bodies of slain Elves. Their faces twisted into monstrous, DEMONIC grins stretching from eye to eye.
As soon as the Elves saw the sacred prophecy carved into the meteor, their hearts held no room for peace. The images they had seen — their own deaths at the hands of the two unknown heroes — were an indelible insult and threat. In their eyes, it was not a prophecy but a death sentence.
Then they made a decision that would forever change the course of history: the Elves abandoned the Empire. They separated from Humans and Nekos, retreating to their ancient forests, swearing never again to live in a society that fate had marked for their doom.
Yet leaving wasn't enough. When they learned of the existence of a brother and sister — Kai and Mei — hatred boiled within them. They saw them as a threat that must be eradicated, symbols of that bloody prophecy. They didn't want to wait for destiny to unfold; they wanted to destroy it themselves, by their own hands, breaking the chain of events before it even began.
But Kai and Mei escaped. Their flight became a spark that set the entire world ablaze. For the Elves, this meant that the prophecy still lived, that danger still existed. So they made another, even more terrifying decision: if they couldn't kill siblings immediately, they would destroy the entire Empire. In their eyes, every house, every temple, every army — all were guilty, for Humans and Nekos were harboring these "heroes."
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A massive machine, made of metal, hovered motionless several miles from the White House. Its walls were smooth and silent, without a single sign of windows or openings, yet in its eerie presence, a force defying comprehension of physics could be felt.
Kai and Mei couldn't tear their eyes away from that monstrosity in the sky. Their hearts pounded, not from excitement, but from that unsettling feeling when you know you're witnessing something that shouldn't exist.
"It hasn't moved for over an hour…" Mei whispered.
Kai shifted uneasily. "Let's get a closer look!" he said, louder than he intended, but his tone carried determination mixed with curiosity.
Mei hesitated for a moment, her gaze trembling, but then she nodded, accepting her brother's decision. The two slowly moved toward the door.
Kai grasped the handle and carefully opened the door, but before stepping forward, he saw Lily.
Her hands were clasped in front of her, eyes cast downward, cheeks faintly flushed. "H-hello…" she said shyly.
"We were just heading outside…" Kai said, pushing the door, but something invisible held him back. It was as if he had struck an unseen glass wall. Instinctively, he raised his hand and touched the space in front of him. It was solid and cold. "What?" he muttered, confused.
"Sorry… But you mustn't go out…" Lily said, clutching the hem of her maid uniform as her skirt shifted slightly with each tense movement. Her fingers gently played with the folds of fabric, almost unconsciously, while avoiding direct eye contact.
Mei looked up and asked, "Why?"
Lily swallowed and raised her eyes to them, quickly looking away. Her cheeks flushed slightly. "If Cyclone kills you… the Empire will instantly lose the war," her words were quiet.
"Cyclone?" Kai asked, his voice curious but tinged with slight fear. His eyes couldn't help but notice the way Lily moved, her legs subtly drawn together.
"That enormous machine outside…" Lily began, barely audible. "At first, it was built only to fight the Dravarn, one of the Empire's greatest technological marvels. A machine meant to save us. But… the demons destroyed it quickly."
Kai and Mei exchanged a glance, and Lily paused, as if gathering strength to say what came next. Her hands still clutched the edges of her uniform, and although her gaze kept returning to them, it always darted away in the next moment.
"It seems… they repaired it," she finally said, her last word trembling on her lips.
"Then why would you lose the war if we die?" Kai asked, looking Lily straight in the eyes.
Lily trembled for a moment. Her breath grew shallow, and she gripped the edges of her uniform tighter. Finally, she gathered the courage to speak but couldn't meet their eyes. She turned her gaze aside, her voice soft, almost broken:
"Because… it's believed that you're the heroes from the prophecy."
Kai was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly slammed the door in front of her. He sat on the bed, covering his face with his hands, and laughter burst out of him.
First quiet, then louder, rougher, and wilder.
"Hahahaha… HAHHAHAHAHA! WE ARE THE CHOSEN ONES!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, shoulders shaking from uncontrollable laughter.
Mei stood frozen for a moment, but then the same twisted smile appeared on her face. She erupted into hysterical, piercing laughter. "HAHAHA! HAAHAHA!" Her voice rang so loudly that she could feel her vocal cords burning.
"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" Kai screamed, tears of laughter streaming down his cheeks. In a fit of madness, he bit his own hand to try to stop the laughter, but it only intensified — stronger, more painful, harder to control.
"I'M READY TO DIE!" Mei screamed, digging her nails deep into her thigh. Her skin tore under the pressure, and blood streamed down her leg, leaving dark red stains on the floor.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" Kai's laughter echoed, his fists now wounded from his teeth, blood running down his fingers and dripping onto the carpet.
Their laughter carried throughout the White House. Guards gathered in distant hallways, but no one dared approach. The laughter was so inhuman it terrified even those accustomed to war and bloodshed.
After a few moments, the laughter faded, replaced by silence.
Kai wiped the blood from his lips and slowly turned his head to his sister. "Shall we, sis?" he asked softly, but his voice held not a trace of uncertainty.
Mei looked up, their eyes meeting. Fear was gone, replaced only by immense determination. "Let's do it, bro!" she agreed with her brother, even though she hadn't yet heard the plan.
Kai slowly approached the window and opened it, feeling the cold breeze through his hair. "Barrier!" he said, extending his hand. Moments later, the invisible barrier that had stood before them simply vanished.
Without hesitation, he stepped onto the narrow ledge beneath the window. His steps were careful. Mei followed, arms slightly extended for balance.
When they reached another ledge below, they carefully descended.
"Where to now?" Mei asked, looking around.
Kai paused, staring at the space below them. "We have to jump!" he said.
Mei nodded, and then they both took a deep breath, feeling adrenaline surge through their veins. They waited just a moment… and then they jumped.
The air rushed past them as they fell, their stomachs twisting from excitement and fear. They landed on their feet in a crouch, perfectly balanced, and then immediately ran, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the White House.
They ran straight toward Cyclone.
It took them a few minutes, but finally, they arrived. They stopped in front of Cyclone, and instead of tension or fear, they smiled together.
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"Can I release it?" asked an Elf, his voice muffled beneath the heavy helmet covering his face, eyes barely visible through the narrow slit.
The King watched for a moment, waited to consider, then nodded decisively: "Release it!"
An Elf took a deep breath and pressed the button. In the next instant, a tremendous impact echoed — the ground shook, the air filled with the sharp roar of an explosion.
BOOM!
The earth trembled beneath their feet, dust and smoke shot into the sky. Cracking and screeching noises filled the air, and the reverberation of the blast echoed through the area.
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"Victory is mine!" exclaimed Elmyra, Goddess of the Elves, raising her hand high while standing on her tiptoes.
Feloria, Goddess of the Neko, sat right beside her, her body tense, always ready to react. Instead of responding, she merely hissed quietly, like a cat.
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The brother and sister suddenly covered their ears, trying to protect their eardrums from the deafening explosion reverberating through the city.
Suddenly, with a massive, piercing roar, Cyclone charged forward, moving almost at the speed of light.
It tore through the city, destroying everything in its path — houses splintered, walls cracked, trees ripped from the ground. Even the White House could not withstand its force and collapsed into a heap of rubble.
Everything happened in a fraction of a second — there was no time to even blink.
Kai and Mei didn't even notice when Cyclone flew past them leaving only blurred air and trembling ground in its wake. Slowly, with ears still pressed tight, they turned their heads toward the destruction.
The city was unrecognizable. Houses lay in ruins, roofs collapsed, windows shattered, and smoke rose from piles of debris and wooden beams. Trees were uprooted and scattered left and right, and the streets were littered with wreckage.
The canal ran along the entire path Cyclone had carved, a black and merciless line of destruction cutting the city in half.
Kai and Mei stood paralyzed as their eyes slowly took in the scale of the devastation — a sight that surpassed every notion they had of power and catastrophe.
Their jaws nearly dropped in shock. They could not have imagined Cyclone would be this powerful — a machine whose speed and strength exceeded anything they had ever seen, and now their world had become a place of complete destruction.